CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from various wire reports each morning:

THE BREAK (FOX) - Dustin Nguyen ("V.I.P.") has been cast in drama pilot about a cop (Dylan Bruno) who goes back to Hawaii with his son and moves in with his sister. Nguyen will play the sister's politician husband.

CASINO EYE (NBC) - Frank Santorelli ("The Sopranos") has been added to the cast of Peacock's drama pilot about the security surveillance team at a Las Vegas casino. He will play the right-hand man to the team's leader (James Caan).

EDDIE'S FATHER (WB) - Nicole Bilderback ("Dawson's Creek," "Dark Angel") has joined the cast of the Frog's remake of the 1960s series "The Courtship of Eddie's Father." She will play a university student who works part time as Eddie's nanny.

FATHER OF THE PRIDE (NBC, New!) - The Peacock has made a hefty commitment to "Father of the Pride," a CGI animated series about a family of white lions who work as performers in the Las Vegas act of illusionists Siegfried & Roy. NBC has ordered 13 episodes of the project as well as 13 additional scripts for a fall 2004 premiere date. Jonathan Groff ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien"), Peter Mehlman ("Seinfeld") and Dreamworks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg are behind the project. Katzenberg flew 10 NBC execs (as well as their families) to Las Vegas and arranged for the group to take a private backstage tour at the Mirage to see the animals in Siegfried & Roy's show as part of their pitch to sell the project.

THE GONG SHOW (WB) - Comedian Jeffrey Ross will take over the hosting duties from Chuck Barris in the Frog's update of the game/talent show.

JACK'S HOUSE (FOX) - Will Friedle ("Boy Meets World") has landed the lead role in the FOX comedy pilot about a twentysomething guy (Friedle) whose plan to settle down after buying a house is complicated by his partying roommates and his girlfriend.

THE HELP (WB) - Newcomer Megan Fox has been added to the cast of the Frog's comedy pilot "The Help," which is in the vein of "Upstairs, Downstairs." She will play a spoiled, rich 16-year-old who is completely oblivious to the feelings of the household staff.

MACARTHUR PARK (Showtime, New!) - The pay channel has given a script order to a new dramedy from "Real Women Have Curves" writer Josefina Lopez. The project revolves around the world of immigration law and follows the lives of an ensemble cast of characters living in Los Angeles' east side. Lopez will serve as creator and writer of the series with Willie Kutner and Marilyn Atlas on board as producers.

A MINUTE WITH STAN HOOPER (FOX) - Eric Lively ("Uprising") has been added to the cast of Norm Macdonald's comedy pilot about a man (Macdonald) who moves with his wife to a small Wisconsin town. Lively will play Hooper's high-spirited cameraman.

RUN OF THE HOUSE (WB) - "Even Stevens'" Margo Harshman has been cast in the comedy pilot as Brooke.

SKIN (FOX) - Pamela Gidley ("The Pretender") has been added to the cast of Jerry Bruckheimer's drama pilot about the forbidden love of the daughter of a porn king (Ron Silver) and the son of the district attorney who is trying to bring him down (Ken Anderson). Gidley will play the magnate's polished but earthy Bel-Air wife.

SWEET POTATO QUEENS (WB) - Ronnie Claire Edwards, Burke Moses and Faith Prince have all joined the WB's comedy pilot based on the J. Conner Browne's books. Edwards will play Burke's mother.

UNTITLED NICOLE SULLIVAN PROJECT (CBS) - David Burke has been added to the cast of Nicole Sullivan's untitled comedy pilot.

UNTITLED TOM HERTZ PROJECT (ABC) - Breckin Meyer ("Inside Schwartz") is set as Tom, Nancy Lenehan ("Catch Me if You Can") as Sandy and Derek Waters ("The District") as Lewis in Hertz's untitled project for the Alphabet network. Meyer plays an introverted New Yorker who marries into a large, gregarious family from Kansas.

UNTITLED WHOOPI GOLDBERG PROJECT (NBC) - Elizabeth Reagan ("Malcolm in the Middle") will play Rita, the girlfriend of Goldberg's brother and newcomer Tamara Robinson as Sammi, the niece of Goldberg in the former "Hollywood Squares" host's project for the Peacock.